How to Add New Pages in OpenCart With the CustomPages Extension

Customizing OpenCart can be done easily with the great variety of available themes and templates. However, there are more things that can be done with the platform such as creating new web pages to show content that is unique for your E-Commerce store.

Since OpenCart does not have a native method of creating new pages, we have developed a solution called CustomPages. This blog post will explain what the extension is, what it does and how you can use it without any knowledge in web development.

The main purpose of CustomPages

OpenCart is quite flexible and perfectly enough when setting up your store. However, at some point you might start feeling that something is missing and you want a bit more freedom to add more content to your website.

Like we mentioned in the beginning, the default installation of OpenCart does not have a function to create custom pages in your website. By installing the CustomPages module, this function is enabled and you can start creating new pages and assign modules to them.

Let's begin this tutorial with a video example showing how to create a Featured Products page:

As you see, working with the module itself is straightforward and intuitive.

Another great thing to have in your OpenCart store, as in any other website, is an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. You can use that page to solve common questions and problems your customers are having.

Here is a tutorial on how to create an FAQ page using CustomPages:

Being a successful E-Commerce store entails more than just having products and selling them. The more useful you strive to be for your customers and visitors - the better. Having additional pages with custom content to help guide your visitors is an awesome feature.

This third example shows how to create a custom page with YouTube videos. They can be anything from guides and tutorials like this, to videos of your product in action:

How to use CustomPages

Let’s begin by finding the extension after you have installed it. Start from your Dashboard and click on Extensions > Modules.

Find the HTML Content module and click on Edit to create your new custom page.

Begin by choosing a name and heading title for your new page.

The Description is the field where you add the content of your new custom page. You have a rich text editor with a lot of different styles where you can modify your content, insert images, videos, etc.

You also have a code editor where you can insert custom HTML code.

After you are finished creating the content for your new custom page, click on the Status field and Enable the page. After that, you have to enable it from the layouts.

Head to System > Design > Layouts and create a new layout.

The layout’s name should match the Module name of your new custom page. Choose a new route for the page and find it in the modules below - it should be named “HTML Content > [Module name of the custom page].” Choose it and click Save. Your new custom page is now live!

How to show the new page in the store front

To make your new custom page visible in the main toolbar with all your categories, go to Catalog > Categories in the admin panel.

When you are there, click on Add New in the top right corner to add a new category.

Let’s say we want to create a custom landing page for the Apple iPhone. Configure the new Category Name and the rest of the fields.

The next step is to go to the Data tab and fill out the fields there. The most important thing here is to not forget to tick the Top field, which is the option that enables your page in the menu of your store.

The final step is to go to the Design tab and choose your layout from the Layout Overdrive field. Like we did with the iPhone.

Click Save, and the page will now be live in the categories menu on the front of your OpenCart store.

Why do you need more custom pages?

The more custom pages with unique content and links you have, the better. Google and other search engines are more affectionate towards larger quantities of original content, so this covers the SEO part.

Additional pages are not just for SEO purposes. For example, businesses that have between 31 to 40 landing pages on their websites get 7 times more leads than those with 1 to 5 landing pages. This means that more pages can attract additional traffic to your store, especially when those pages have specific and targeted content.

Final words

The best thing about CustomPages is that it works perfectly with all custom OpenCart themes and templates. Adding new and custom content to OpenCart can be exciting when you start using your imagination and creativity. Present your products in a new light, experiment with landing pages, add useful and helpful information. We hope this helps, so leave us a comment below if you have any questions about the extension!